VATICAN CITY
Voice of America
Associated Press
February 08, 2016
VATICAN CITY—
Pope Francis’ sex-abuse commission stressed Monday that its sole purpose is to propose initiatives to protect children from pedophiles, after it effectively suspended a member who advocated a more activist role.
On Saturday, the commission told Peter Saunders, a British survivor of abuse, to take a leave of absence after he criticized the slow pace of progress and pressed to have the commission intervene immediately in individual cases, rather than just craft long-term policies to fight abuse.
In a statement Monday, the commission cited from its founding documentation that its “specific task” is to provide the pope with proposals to protect children and help local churches take responsibility for the problem.
It didn’t mention Saunders in the statement concluding its weeklong plenary meeting.
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